The Academical Village is the centerpiece of the University landscape and contains some of the first buildings to be constructed on Grounds. The historic, colonial-style architecture in central Grounds is composed of the Lawn, Rotunda, Range, Gardens, Pavilions and more.
Maintenance work of the different features in the Academical Village can range from major renovations on buildings such as the Rotunda to seemingly minor details such as maintaining the gardens. But renovating the space is not always as straightforward as changing structures — the University is sometimes required to seek approval from statewide and even international bodies before renovations in this space can begin.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a body partially dedicated to preserving sites of great significant for humanity, selected the Academical village to be inducted as a World Heritage Site in 1987 alongside Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. It is the only American university to hold this honor. Due to this designation and its historic value, the Academical Village is constantly undergoing upkeep to preserve the state of its structures.
UNESCO designates certain places around the world as sites of outstanding value to humanity. There are currently 1,223 official heritage sites — though just 26 in the U.S. — including the Pyramids of Giza, the Acropolis and the Grand Canyon.
Because of the Academical Village’s UNESCO designation, there are sometimes specific processes that the University must undergo in order to make major changes to the space. Sarita Herman, assistant director for project management and historic preservation at University Facilities Management, said that for major changes, such as changes to appearance or additions to the site, the University first coordinates with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources — the Commonwealth’s historical preservation office. After that, proposals move on to be reviewed and approved first by the National Park Service and eventually UNESCO.
Herman said that the only recent project to her knowledge that has ever required review by UNESCO was the addition of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers. However, the University is obligated to provide a report to UNESCO every five years to submit updates on the condition of the site and any threats that may be facing it.
Arguably the centerpiece of the Lawn, the Rotunda has undergone rounds of design and restoration. Though it was designed by Thomas Jefferson, it was not completed until after his death. First constructed in 1822, the building burned down in an 1895 fire and had to be completely rebuilt.
The most recent renovation of the Rotunda was completed in 2016 and mostly aimed at updating antiquated systems, such as plumbing and power, and some deteriorating structural conditions such as a roof leak. Additionally, this renovation saw updates in utility and increased physical accessibility to the Rotunda for the University community.
Brian Hogg, senior historic preservation planner at the University Office of the Architect, said that the $58 million renovation included converting certain rooms into classrooms and study spaces and adding access to the balcony from the dome room.
“It had been not a terribly inviting space before this renovation. Students could go in and study in the dome room, but that was a fact that was not well known, and not a lot of people took advantage of it,” Hogg said.
Student Affairs also extended the hours of the Rotunda following the renovation, allowing students card swipe access in the evenings to further the aim of making the building more accessible.
“Besides all the work we did … we changed the program in the building to make it more accessible and make it be part of the daily life of the school,” Hogg said.
Dome Room dinners for first-year students living in on-Grounds housing were also formalized after the completion of this renovation. The first-year dinner series welcomes a different residence hall each Wednesday for the opportunity to eat in the dome room and connect with their fellow residents as well as engage with the Rotunda.
Hogg said one rewarding outcome of this renovation was a substantial increase in visitors to the Rotunda after the renovation was completed to make it a more welcoming building.
“Before we closed [the Rotunda] for the renovation, they had about 100,000 people come into the building, and the year after, they had 200,000 people,” Hogg said. “I thought that that was the best sign of the success of the project … the fact that [the Rotunda] is busy and well used now is the best outcome we have from that project.”
According to Herman, an additional renovation of the Shannon courtyard on the western side of the Rotunda is currently being planned in order to enhance the features of that courtyard to be similar to the eastern side. This includes adding more plants and installing waterproofing in certain areas to help protect the North wing of the Rotunda. Construction is anticipated to begin on this project in 2026.
According to both Hogg and Herman, other eventual additions to the Lawn and Range rooms in the Academical Village might include electronic key card access, similar to the rest of on-Grounds housing, and central air conditioning. Although most other buildings on the Academical Village already have these features, they have yet to be implemented in the rooms. Herman said that although central air conditioning may not be implemented for a while, it will ultimately be a project that would assist the preservation of the site.
“It’s a long way out, but it’s something we really hope to do,” Herman said. “Air conditioning helps control humidity in the building, and moisture control is one of the biggest things we talk about in historic preservation.”
Several other projects are also being planned for the near future on the gardens and alleys between the Lawn and Range rooms as well. Some of these projects include renovating the lower gardens of Pavilions I and X and repaving and renovating the alleys on the west side of the Lawn to add curbs and be made more presentable. According to Herman, the latter project will begin with Colonnade Alley, adjacent to the Colonnade Club, this summer and continue with others in subsequent summers. The serpentine garden walls are also being explored for renovation.
This summer, however, will be relatively quiet in terms of work being carried out on the Academical Village. Still, some renovation will be occurring, namely on some of the large columns in front of Pavilion I in order to replace the current outer stucco layer with a more traditional mortar stucco that will help ensure the preservation of the brick.
Of course, there are always renovations that can be made, so Herman said that it is better to undertake these in increments rather than simultaneously.
“There’s always something,” Herman said. “You wouldn’t be able to take the whole Academical Village offline and renovate it all at once, so we just kind of take it in little bite-sized chunks and get what we can done every year.”
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